


Nightmares (Some Things Never Change)

by alfisha



Series: Tomarry Oneshots [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Boys In Love, Comfort, Fluff, Good Tom Riddle, Harry and Tom attend Hogwarts together, Harry and Tom grow up together, Head Boy Tom Riddle, M/M, Nightmares, Sane Tom Riddle, Slytherin Harry Potter, So is Tom, Tom Riddle is Not Voldemort, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, harry is babie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23862544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfisha/pseuds/alfisha
Summary: In which Harry has nightmares, but Tom’s always there to chase them away.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Series: Tomarry Oneshots [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708141
Comments: 16
Kudos: 427





	Nightmares (Some Things Never Change)

**Author's Note:**

> i thought of this before i went to sleep and had to wait the ENTIRE NIGHT before i could go downstairs and write it in my notebook. i wanted so desperately not to forget it. good news: i didn’t. 
> 
> ALSO I HAVE WRITTEN THIS ENTIRE THING OUT TWICE BECAUSE IT DELETED THE FIRST TIME I WAS SO STRESSED
> 
> anyway have some fluff :))

Everything was too cold.

The walls of the orphanage shook from the force of the wind outside, and Harry awoke shivering, tears streaming down his face. He clutched at the sheets around him, trying to keep hold of reality. 

It was just a dream.

The shadows that chased him in his nightmares seemed to follow him into consciousness, the darkness lurking in the corners of his and Tom’s room seeming to have eyes, watching him...

He whimpered slightly in fear, thankful that it was only Tom in the bed next to his.

A spark of hope ignited in his chest as he remembered his friend.   
  
Tom could help him! He always did.

Harry crept silently out of bed, bare feet recoiling at the frozen floorboards that sent a chill creeping through him. He padded over to Tom’s bed, hesitating as he stared down at the sleeping boy. He knew that Tom was a light sleeper, and that he’d wake instantly if Harry touched him - but Harry couldn’t help feeling guilty at the thought of disturbing him.

Before Harry could turn and retreat, however, Tom rolled over and blinked himself awake blearily. He sat up quickly, backing away from the shadow that Harry knew he looked like in the darkness - he silently cursed his dark skin.

”Tom, it’s just me. Just Harry.” Harry whispered, and Tom peered intently through the darkness to see his face.

”Harry?” He asked, and Harry nodded. Tom visibly relaxed, sinking down a bit more into his pillow. “What’s wrong?”

Harry shifted slightly, looking down at the patterns on Tom’s sheets in feigned distraction, even though they were exactly the same as his own and he’d seen them many times before - Tom knew this, but didn’t comment on it.

”I-I had a bad dream,” he murmured, fiddling with his fingers. There was silence for a moment, and Harry was a lot more aware of the cold pressing down onto his skin, seeping into his bones.

”Okay...?” Tom trailed off, sounding confused. Harry sighed.

”Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for waking you up, go back to sleep, I’ll just-“

”Harry,” Tom interrupted, looking at Harry fondly. Harry could feel his cheeks heating up, and he hoped it was too dark to be noticeable. “Shut up.”

”Sorry,” he whispered, but Tom shushed him again.

Tom shuffled backwards in the tiny bed, and opened the sheets to allow Harry to join him. Harry smiled gratefully at him, and clambered into bed with his friend.

Tom’s warmth heated Harry to the core, and he sighed in contentment when Tom wrapped his arms around him.

Harry’s shadow monsters didn’t bother him for the rest of the night.

**~**

It was the middle of Harry’s seventh year at Hogwarts, but when he woke up shivering and crying in the middle of the night, he felt like a child again.

A small, insignificant child that cries when he has bad dreams.

He swept a hand through his messy hair, trying to calm himself down. He hadn’t had a nightmare like that for a long time.

There was _someone_ he could go to that would make him feel better, someone who cared...

But he was seventeen now! Tom would laugh at Harry if he went to him like this, so vulnerable...

So weak.

Harry bit his lip, deliberating.

On the one hand, Tom could make fun of him for acting childish, but on the other... maybe he wouldn’t.

That was all the reason his brain needed apparently, because before Harry could think about it any more, his legs were suddenly moving without his permission - leading him out of his dorm and down the hall to the Head Boy’s chambers. Tom’s room.

He hesitates before opening the door, déjà vû slapping him in the face as he remembered the times he’d pause as a kid before waking Tom.

Before he could talk himself out of it - he’d gotten this far, after all - he turned the doorknob and walked inside.

He’d been in Tom’s room before, and so the large space and stylish furniture didn’t surprise him. He held his breath as he closed the door behind him and approached the double bed - privileged prat - and stopped next to the sleeping form of his friend.

He reached out to touch him, but before he could, Tom was sitting ramrod straight on the edge of his bed, wand pressed harshly against Harry’s neck.

”Jesus, Tom! It’s just me! Just Harry!” he whisper-shouted, eyed wide. Tom lowered his wand, staring suspiciously at him.

”Harry?” he asked, and Harry nodded.

Tom sat back and looked at him questioningly.

”What is it?” 

Harry balked a bit, mouth opening and closing as he wondered at what to say. Tom raised a prompting eyebrow, and Harry sighed, lowering his head in shame.

”I... had a bad dream.” he admitted, and bit his lip some more as he waited for the inevitable judgement.

But Tom said nothing.

Instead, he scooted back in the vast bed, opening the covers for Harry.   
  
Harry blinked at him in shock.

Tom huffed impatiently, and leaned forward and grabbed Harry’s arm to tug him under the duvet next to him. Harry went along compliantly, and couldn’t help relaxing when Tom’s arms enveloped him, and he nestled Harry’s head beneath his chin and into the base of his throat. Harry sighed contentedly at the warmth Tom’s body emitted, and Tom chuckled quietly.

”What?” Harry asked indignantly, voice muffled against Tom’s skin.

”Just nostalgia, I suppose.” Tom replied fondly in a whisper, and Harry smiled.

He remembered.

”Some things never change, huh? I’m still as pathetic as ten years ago.” He huffed a breathy laugh, and he hoped Tom didn’t notice the rapid beating of his heart when Tom laced his fingers through Harry’s hair.

”It’s not pathetic to have a bad dream,” Tom reasoned.

”Maybe not, but it _is_ a little sad that I go crying to you about it.” Harry said bitterly, but Tom just laughed and continued stroking Harry’s hair.

”It’s not pathetic to seek safety, either.” Tom told him, then paused. “Out of curiosity, could you tell me- is it the same nightmare as back then?”

Harry stilled, but Tom’s hands didn’t. The one that was not busied in Harry’s mess of hair was rubbing circles into Harry’s side comfortingly. 

“...No.” he finally answered, but didn’t elaborate.

Tom nodded and hummed thoughtfully, but didn’t prod further. He must have felt Harry’s reluctance.

”You know I’ll always be there to protect you,” he whispered after a while. “I’ll never stop being your safety.”

He shifted slightly, pulling Harry a bit away from him so that he could see his face. Harry smirked. “What, am I incapable of protecting myself?” He asked.

Tom grinned softly back at him. “Of course not. I’m just here for back-up.”

Harry stared - as cliché as it sounds - into Tom’s eyes, the dark brown colour appearing black in the limited light. Tom stared right back, and Harry wondered what he saw there.

He didn’t have much time to wonder, because then Tom’s lips were on his forehead, and he thought his heart would explode.

He noticed with a hint of satisfaction that Tom’s heart was beating as fast as his.

When Tom finished his small trail of kisses down Harry’s face, he pulled him to his chest once more, and Harry nuzzled against him affectionately.

From that day on, neither of them ever slept alone. 

**~**

**Author's Note:**

> this hasn’t been edited so if there are typos please ignore them lol
> 
> hey, you should check out my other oneshots.  
> it would make me very happy.
> 
> only if you want 🥺👉🏻👈🏻  
> also follow my tumblr. https://alfiisha.tumblr.com/


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